Yesterday morning, after I made my coffee and let my dog outside, I sat down and scrolled through the news items of the day. The mountain of dreadful news coming from Europe was insane. I sat, sipped my coffee, watched my two kids play on the living room floor, and took in images that I had no earthly way of identifying with when I realized something; we as Canadians are probably the luckiest group of people on this planet.
In #Berdyansk, a man removed a mine from under a bridge. pic.twitter.com/ZrBy1pqC0w
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 27, 2022
I watched a brave Ukrainian man, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, pick up a land mine off the road and carry it deep into the woods so that the Ukrainian military, and presumably other Ukrainian citizens, would not accidentally detonate it. I saw Miss Ukraine trade her tiara for a machine gun. I saw Canadian comedian, Anthony Walker, trade his freedom in Canada for a chance to go and fight against the Russian invaders.
I saw all of that and more, and I hadn’t even finished my coffee yet.
Emergency Podcast with Canadian freedom fighter, comedian @AnthonycWalker https://t.co/S9o5j2ktX9
— Dean Blundell (@ItsDeanBlundell) February 27, 2022
Perspective is a funny thing. For some Canadians, the past 2 years have been difficult, to say the least. Some of those difficulties materialized due to the realities of being in the middle of a pandemic, with dead loved ones, lost incomes, and lives simply turned upside-down from the worst health crisis the planet has seen since the Spanish Flu. But for others, the pandemic was seen as a gross example of governmental overreach, and an attack on our freedoms.
On a truck delivering supplies for the Ukrainian Army 👊 pic.twitter.com/4pvqmfyImh
— Anthony Walker, Temporary Ukrainian 🇺🇦 (@anthonycwalker) February 28, 2022
I understand the argument from COVID scrutineers; an opportunistic government has decided to interfere with the principles of basic freedoms, limiting our movements and leveling society with restrictions. But nestled at the core of these beliefs is a sense of entitlement so profound that it blinds them from what they should actually be thankful for – living in a country where their biggest problem was not being afforded the right to eat at Denny’s if they did not get vaccinated.
Right now in Ukraine, the biggest problem is trying to figure out how to keep your family safe from falling Russian missiles.
I poured a second cup of coffee and watched my daughter dance around our harvest table to a song from the movie Coco. I watched my son draw food/animal hybrids from the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs II. I heard my dog paw at the back door, signaling he had completed his outside business. Then I went back to my morning scroll through the newsfeeds.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is threatening all of Europe, and the planet if you want to get technical, by putting his nuclear forces on high alert. Streams of Ukrainian refugees are pouring out of Ukraine into Poland. A few brave men and women from other countries, including Canada, are driving in the opposite direction of the endless line of vehicles attempting to flee.
All the while, MPP Randy Hillier is singing the praises of Putin, apparently unaware or unconcerned about the threat of using nuclear weapons.
The sun just peeked out from behind a cloud. I can see a deer in the distance. Then another one. My dog sees them too. I let him out a second time so he can feel like a bad ass as he chases them from the property. My son and daughter are snuggled together on the makeshift nest of blankets and pillows they had built in front of the television. There are no bombs heard in the distance. There are no mothers wailing for the husband or daughter she just lost. There are no tyrants threatening to incinerate us.
Today on Blackballed: The Fight for Ukraine https://t.co/78Fbv0AXuy
— James DiFiore (@jamesdifiore) March 1, 2022
Our geography is our most fortunate characteristic. We are half a world away from this conflict. Our country shares a border with the most powerful nation on Earth, and the last thing they would allow is a foreign invader to occupy our land. And despite America’s deeply divided populace, we could do a lot worse when it comes to who our closest ally is.
I finish my second cup of coffee. My emotions are mixed. I am grateful for where I live, but almost guilty for feeling so sheltered. I am very aware of Canada’s sometimes grotesque history, but also feeling extraordinarily lucky to be living here.
We are Canadians. We live in the most picturesque and peaceful place on Earth. Maybe it’s about time we start acting like it. This first world version of freedom and liberty being shoved down our throats by frantic seekers of a utopia they’ve either invented or imagined is distracting them from an unassailable reality – they are lucky too.
The next time you go for a scroll through your newsfeed, remember that you have been afforded something most people take for granted – the ability to scroll without doing so from a bomb shelter, or a hospital bed, or while hiding in the rubble of a destroyed family home.
My dog paws the door again, and again I let him in. He sits at my feet and waits for me to stand up, signaling it is time for him to eat.
And all I keep on thinking is how lucky am I?
